


Enchanted

by cosmicConundrum



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Celtic Mythology & Folklore, Fae & Fairies, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I sure do love that trope, M/M, Mayuge Day, St. Patrick's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:32:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10059143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicConundrum/pseuds/cosmicConundrum
Summary: As a young boy, Alfred is told never to leave the wall-encircled village he's grown up in. One day, he escapes through a hole in the wall, wanders into the nearby enchanted forest, and meets a mysterious fae boy named Arthur. The two quickly become friends and possibly even more, but Alfred soon finds out that not everyone in his village is as accepting as he is.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> If any of you have ever heard of The Secret of Kells, then here is your USUK AU for it! If you haven't, well, it's a really good traditional hand-drawn animated movie based off Celtic mythology and folklore. I highly recommend watching it. Anyways, the other day I was watching it and thought that it would make a good USUK AU especially because it involves a friendship between a human boy and a fae girl. And boom. Shipping ensued.
> 
> Here you are with this fic in celebration of all things Irish hopefully in time for St. Patrick's Day.
> 
> [I recommend listening to the soundtrack of the movie for appropriate background music.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNf39v4r0n0&list=PLswagK_VjkWuRYzNyOvt2IBH4VfAJaYak)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young boy falls asleep to fear of the unknown world outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently this is in time for Mayuge Day????? Sweet.

“Papa, why is there a wall?” The little blond boy asked one night as he sat by his father.

His father put down the book he had been reading, and turned to look out the window, where the dim light provided by the crescent moon did little to illuminate the rest of the village against the dark shadows imposed by the high stone walls.

He thought back to days before, of whispered rumors, scared villagers, beads of sweat flowing down his face as he faced his decision, and the order given one bright clear morning that would save everyone. He thought back to the laying of the first stone brick, to the mounds and mounds of wood, stones, and rope collected and laid in a circle around the village, to the endless days of labor provided by villagers, and sometimes even himself.

And he thought about time.

He thought about the village’s time, which was quickly running out.

The man turned back to his son, bathed in the soft golden light of the only candle in the room, his blue eyes wide with curiosity and innocent obliviousness to the state of turmoil in the harsh world around him.

“We built the wall to protect ourselves,” the man said, smiling down at his son, whom he patted on the head, “because there are things out there you’d rather not see, Alfred.”


	2. Into the Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred escapes the village and allows curiosity to get the better of him.

One day little Alfred was running, free as a young boy could be, when he happened upon a thin gap in the giant stone wall.

The boy was interested and, under the orders of his mind, crouched to peek through the hole.

A bright green forest stood on the other side. It looked completely untouched, like no human had ever ventured through it. It was pristine and perfect and eerily silent. Like maybe the reason people didn’t go into it was because they were afraid of something. Like maybe his father had reason to believe what he did. Of course, this dark and ominous thought did not occur to Alfred, who was merely a young boy bursting with curiosity and unfortunately obliviousness as well.

He leaned a little closer to the gap and found that if he tried hard enough, he could squeeze through without too much trouble.

He decided then and there that there was nothing stopping him from exploring for a little while. All the ominous forewarnings from his father and from the other villagers were completely forgotten.

And so he began his passage through the stone gap.

The bricks felt rough and cold under his little palms and legs, and his long green cloak got caught on a stray piece of mortar sticking out of the wall, but through his sheer energy and persistence, Alfred finally made it through, and popped out from the wall. He stumbled into the ground with an “oomph!”

He recovered quickly, only to notice that the grass beneath his little hands was much greener and longer than usual. The village’s meadows were dry and boring in comparison to this one… which only meant…

He looked up and gasped. He was out of the village!

Ahead of him was the open wilderness, full of strange and tall trees that were almost lined up in rows. The forest looked like it stretched on forever, into the deep green mist that seemed to form in front of him. It was completely silent except for the occasional bird’s chirp and his own heavy breathing.

What now?

Well, what better next move than to explore the forest?

Alfred slowly got up on wobbly legs before steadying himself. He took one deep breath before he began marching into the treeline.

He walked for a very long time. Around him, the world was green and only green. Little floating pinpoints of light sparkled around him. Alfred may have been imagining it, but he was sure he heard faint laughter coming from those little floating lights. Gnarled vines and old tree roots crawled through the forest floor the way veins on a hand would. Sunlight streamed through the canopy leaves and left little spots of light on the grassy ground. A bird took off from a high branch and chirped as it flew by. Alfred laughed at it when it landed and looked at him, its little head tilting curiously.

“I won’t hurt you, little birdie,” he whispered and smiled.

The bird chirped at him, then hopped once, twice, before it flapped its wings and flew away.

Alfred couldn’t help but frown as he watched it leave. He was hoping for a friend to talk to! In the meantime, though, he could still explore.

The farther he walked, the taller the trees and the thicker the underbrush got. Less and less light seemed to filter through the canopy, and the forest quickly darkened around him. Alfred looked around him in fear, but continued walking nonetheless. He had vowed he would be a hero, and he couldn’t let some shadows scare him, because heroes simply weren’t scared of shadows!

Suddenly, he heard rustling from behind some trees to his left. Alfred couldn’t stop the gasp that slipped from his mouth, and immediately quieted down. If there really was something, he would just lead it right to him! He needed to stay silent.

He moved on.

Leaves and twigs and grass crunched underneath his worn shoes.

Alfred pushed aside some more leaves to reveal a great clearing of moss, which he also stumbled into. The third or fourth time that day, he groaned as he got up, ignoring the smudges of dirt on his knees.

He walked towards the center of the clearing, where a single beam of light just barely managed to illuminate an unusually clean rock. Alfred turned around in a circle and noticed that the clearing was almost perfectly circular and bordered by similarly clean rocks set up in a symmetrical pattern. The shadows of the trees covered all but the center rock.

Something about the arrangement of the rocks didn’t seem right to him.

Suddenly, he heard rustling again. Alfred shivered a little and looked around with wild eyes.

There, standing between two gigantic boulders, was a wolf. A black wolf. Its eyes were red, almost glowing. It bared its teeth at him, and began stalking ever closer.

Alfred gasped again and stumbled backwards. His little legs only caused him to trip. He looked back frantically at the center rock. Perhaps if he got to it, the wolf wouldn’t be able to get him.

More growls.

Around the circumference of the circle, more and more wolves appeared, until a black wall of fur and fangs and glowing red eyes had surrounded the entire clearing. Alfred began to sniffle. He held his little hands out, as if to keep the beasts away, and vaguely saw the form of a wolf as white as snow pushing through the others and walking towards him. He was going to die! He was going to die alone because he didn’t listen to the others when they told him not to go into the forest!

Alfred let out a sob and turned away from the pack so that he was huddled next to the rock.

“What are you doing in my forest?” A sudden boyish voice asked.

Confused, Alfred looked up.

Standing before him, clad in a green cloak, shirt, and pants, was another boy. He had pale skin, almost like that of a ghost. His hair was a light blonde, close enough to the color of straw. His eyebrows were dark and frankly enormous; their mere size helped Alfred cheer up a little. But the most mesmerizing things about this strange boy were his eyes, which were a sharp shade of green that almost outshined the hue of the forest around him.

“Well?” The boy continued, raising an eyebrow and not looking very pleased.

Alfred gaped, mouth hanging open almost comically, when he realized that all the black wolves around him were gone. Like they had vanished into thin air. Or maybe like this mysterious wolf-boy had dismissed them.

“Come on, I haven’t got all day,” the boy groaned, rolling his eyes, “You’re lost, aren’t you.”

It wasn’t a question. He seemed so sure of himself.

But little Alfred, pleased to see he had found another boy his age, only smiled.

“Hello! I’m Alfred! It’s nice to meet you!” He yelled rather loudly, and smiled so wide his face threatened to split in half.

The other boy raised his already raised eyebrow even higher, then sighed. He approached Alfred, looked him up and down, and relented.

“My name is Arthur.”

Alfred paused and thought about it for a moment.

“I like your name!” He declared.

“Well, alright, Alfred, but you really need to get back to your human village,” Arthur continued, a look of concern crossing his features.

Wait a minute. Human?

“You’re… you’re a fairy, aren’t you?” Alfred gasped.

Arthur merely rolled his eyes a second time.

“Yes, I’m a fairy. Now, are you going to answer my question or not? Why are you in my forest?” Arthur muttered.

Alfred paused again. He didn’t know, to be honest. He had merely let his curiosity get the best of him.

“I left my village and saw the forest. You know, my dad always tells me stories about the village and how I should never leave it, but I was really bored wandering around the village because it's so boring, and, and I found a gap in the stone wall and there was the forest, and it looked so green and pretty, a-and I had never been outside of my village in my life!”

To emphasize his point, Alfred waved his arms around wildly in an attempt to gesture at the amazing foliage around him. The forest was no longer scary now that the wolves were gone.

Arthur stared at him. Alfred stared back with wide and curious blue eyes.

“Are you evil?” was his sudden inquiry.

“What?” Arthur yelled, “Of course not! I don’t know what it is with humans and their stupid ideas about us fairies but I’m not bad!”

Alfred smiled.

“Okay then.”

Arthur huffed.

“Wait, I have another question!” Alfred added after a thoughtful moment, ignoring Arthur’s groaned response. “Were you the white wolf that came by earlier?”

Arthur stopped frowning and actually seemed to smile. Or at least he was smirking, probably in pride. He put his fists against his hips and laughed.

“Of course I was! I’m magical like that!”

Arthur’s proud remark was mirrored in Alfred’s innocent, trusting smile.

“I like you, Arthur.”

The fairy’s little cheeks pinked at that comment, but he huffed again and turned around before saying, “Well, you must go now. Come on, I will lead you back. I know the way.”

“But Artie!”

“My name is Arthur.”

Alfred pouted but did not object like he normally would when Arthur grasped his hand and began leading him through the clearing, past the boulders, then back into the foliage. They walked for a long time, passing under low branches, hopping over stepping stones in a small stream, climbing over long tree roots, during which Alfred tripped and had to be caught by Arthur, and finally nearing the worn grassy path that opened back up to an open field.

The distant and sadly familiar stone walls of the village could be seen not too far away.

Alfred realized Arthur’s hand was gone and turned around to say goodbye to him, but he was no longer there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I know that I should technically be updating the other fics I still have to finish, but I thought of this and I couldn't NOT write it. Unlike what I've been doing to my other fics, though, I'm going to publish and finish all of this fic hopefully by St. Patrick's Day, or at least the end of the month. If I don't, then I don't even know what to tell you.


	3. Second Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years pass, and Alfred has long forgotten his one-night journey into the forest. That doesn't stop him from escaping the village again, this time to get some much-needed materials for a project.

_ Years later… _

A boy that couldn’t have been older than maybe ten or twelve looked up from his empty woven basket and was greeted by the sight of dark, misty woods before him.

He exhaled and saw his breath in the form of a cloud swirling before him, and he knew that it was cold.

Perhaps night wasn’t the best time of day to go out into the forest alone to gather some much-needed materials after all. But Alfred had sworn himself to this task, and he would be letting the others down if he were to return empty handed out of cowardness. He would also be made fun of. Big time. Out of fear of losing his dignity, Alfred took a deep breath, exhaled, and resolved to go into the forest.

The whole process of actually walking into the tree line was vaguely familiar, like he had done it once in the past. Perhaps he had, Alfred mused, though he was sure that he would remember if he did. For one, the other villagers would have made a huge deal out of it and would have forbid him from coming within a few dozen feet of the walls.

Too late. Alfred was already trampling through the thick underbrush like the clumsy oaf he was.

Alfred hunched inwards and attempted to wrap his thin cloak around himself to hopefully push away the cold. The forest floor was damp with moss dripping with water, and the mist only made it harder to see.

Alfred yelped in pain as he walked into a branch.

He recovered after a few moments of feeling his forehead for any injuries. There were none.

“Okay, pigment berries, pigment berries, pigment berries,” he muttered to himself as he looked at and inspected every bush he walked by.

No berries.

Somewhere off in the distance, a wolf howled, and Alfred instinctively froze. He hoped it wasn’t too close to where he was. He really didn’t want to die.

Suddenly, the snap of a twig.

“Ahhhh!” Alfred yelled and whirled around, cowering in the moss.

Instead of being greeted by the snarl of a hungry wolf, he was met with a smooth, slightly accented voice.

“You again.”

Alfred was confused.

He looked up and was instantly amazed at the person standing before him -- another boy of maybe the same age as he, with a head of tousled blond hair and pale skin. His eyebrows were so thick they almost looked like caterpillars resting above his eyes, which Alfred noted were an almost luminescent green color, like they glowed in the dark.

“Have… have we met before?” Alfred asked.

The other merely rolled his eyes.

“Of course we have. You don’t remember? Well, actually, I suppose that makes sense, what with you humans’ limited capability to remember,” he snapped.

Something about that statement struck Alfred the wrong way.

“ ‘You humans’?” Alfred repeated.

“And here we go again. We had almost this exact same discussion the last time we saw each other. If you need a reminder so badly, just know that you were trampling around this forest, my forest, need I remind you, and I had to rescue you from my pack of wolves. How long has it been? Five years? Six?” The mysterious blond snarled.

Alfred, at a lack of words, merely gaped in silence. This guy wasn’t human? Then what was he, a fairy?

“Yes, Alfred, I am a fairy. No, I’m not evil. Yes, this is my forest. Yes, I can shapeshift. No, my name is not Artie, it’s Arthur. Now will you please get out?” The fairy, Arthur, said, as if reading Alfred’s mind.

Alfred continued gaping.

Arthur sighed.

“Six years, and you haven’t changed one bit. You used to be so cute,” he muttered, gazing off into the distance.

Alfred’s mind chose that exact moment to stare at Arthur a little too long, and ponder over the fact that Arthur, well, he looked really cool. Maybe ‘pretty’ was a better word. Of course, Alfred pushed away these strange and foreign thoughts before he had the time to properly answer their pending questions.

“E-excuse me,” Alfred stammered and winced when the other’s sharp gaze fell on him, “I need to find some green berries to make pigment for ink. Can you help me?”

Arthur seemed to think for a moment before he closed his eyes, exhaled, and nodded slowly.

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

Alfred cheered aloud at the other boy’s response and earned himself a glare, to which he sheepishly laughed at.

“Come along, then.”

A slender hand tugged on Alfred’s own, and the two preteens began walking through the forest.

The mist cleared above their heads for a brief moment, allowing Alfred a quick glance at the night sky and twinkling stars far above. The canopy of tree leaves served as a nice background to the trail Arthur was leading him through.

After a long, long trek, Arthur suddenly stopped. Alfred bumped into his back with an “oof!”

“We’re here,” Arthur said.

Alfred peeked around his side and got a view of a few bushes with nothing on them.

“There’s nothing on these bushes!”

“Not the bushes, you dimwit, the tree,” Arthur hissed, angrily gesturing at the trunk in front of them.

Alfred had to crane his neck to look up at the tree, whose branches had to be something like a hundred feet above him. The tree trunk’s diameter alone was probably two or three times his height. And if Arthur was suggesting that the berries could only be found at the top of this giant of a tree…

“You can climb, can’t you?” Arthur said, the tone of his voice suddenly becoming amused.

“Of course I can,” Alfred insisted.

“Then let’s go.”

Before Alfred could even blink, Arthur had disappeared. Alfred only realized that the other boy had already dashed up the tree when he looked up. Arthur was waving at him almost mockingly.

Alfred pouted. He too could climb! Just watch him.

His right hand grasped at the lowest branch, and with great effort, he hoisted himself up a few feet. Alfred looked up again, at Arthur’s shrinking form, and suppressed jealous thoughts regarding magic and ‘cheating’ as he tried harder to climb. He was only about five feet off the ground. Only more than a hundred left to go! The old bark was not as harsh on Alfred’s palms as he had thought it would be, but every occasional bad grip hurt his skin.

Alfred just barely made it onto the fourth thick branch when he slipped and went crashing into the underbrush. His breath was knocked out of him. For a minute, all he could see were stars. Green stars. His vision was swirling with green. And also pain. Oh man, had that hurt.

Gentle hands helped to support the injured boy as he sat upright.

Alfred realized he had been staring into the eyes of his fairy acquaintance.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asked.

“I think,” Alfred groaned, testing out his limbs.

They stayed like that for some time as Alfred recovered from the fall. He didn’t think he had broken anything, but he was still pretty sore. Eventually, he realized that he still needed to get those berries, and that he had been outside the village for too long. The others would realize that he was gone soon enough. The night sky was beginning to lighten.

“You don’t have to climb the tree,” Arthur whispered. He reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a small handful of the little green berries. “I got some.”

Alfred looked up at Arthur, then down at the berries, then up at Arthur again.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“It’s fine!” Arthur said, then frantically added, “But I’m not giving you them because I care about you or anything!”

A stunned Alfred burst out giggling in the awkwardness.

“You’re so funny!” He exclaimed.

Arthur harrumphed.

“Well, I guess I’m done here, but this place is really cool! Would you mind showing me around your forest?” Alfred said.

A few seconds passed of awkward silence filled only by the chirping of crickets and birds. Finally, Arthur sighed.

“I’ll show you around. But only because I’m bored and have nothing else to do!”

Alfred laughed, to Arthur’s dismay. But the happy boy knew that Arthur was at least secretively appreciative of his company. After all, there was no way anybody could live alone in the forest for so long without friends and be happy about it.

Soon, the two were treading through the forest, ducking under the low branches of saplings and pushing growths of ivy to the side. The emerald green hue of the forest only increased as Arthur gradually led Alfred towards an area with less trees, and the sunlight found its way past the leaves high in the canopy above.

Alfred breathed in softly as his eyes took in the sight of the meadow before him.

The grass was greener than even the field right outside his village, and he could see wildflowers of all colors and shapes spread about. A single stream of water wound through the field. On the far side of the field was a large cluster of trees casting shadows across a blunt rock that probably made for a good lookout post. Alfred gasped again in wonder and took a few steps forward. To his left, the fairy chuckled.

“You look like you’ve never seen a meadow before,” he said.

Alfred sputtered at this.

“No, no, it’s,” he paused for a moment before continuing, “It’s just that… well… it’s-”

“Just spit it out already.”

“It’s really pretty,” Alfred sighed, looking away.

Alfred didn’t realize Arthur hadn’t answered until the silence stunned him enough to look up, and even then all he saw was Arthur’s face going completely pink as he tried to turn away.

“You don’t have to compliment it…”

Alfred laughed again, and just kept on laughing. He laughed so hard he had to bend over, his hands covering his stomach, from the pain of laughing so hard. Arthur rolled his eyes. This kid would never stop being annoying, would he? How long was he going to be here anyway? Of course, Arthur knew that he wouldn’t be able to avoid him, and he had a bad feeling about his character. Something about this mysterious golden-haired boy told him that he got attached to new friends easily, and that it would take a lot for him to go away.

Arthur tried to hide the smile that threatened to burst over his face with a frown.

That was when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a patch of grass that was all yellow and dry. Now he actually frowned. He couldn’t have death in his forest, now, could he?

Without any words towards Alfred, he walked over to the dead patch of land, bent down, and covered his mouth with his hands. Arthur breathed out slowly as to not dilute the essence of the magic he was releasing into the air, and then used his hands to spread the wind over the patch. Immediately new grass burst forth from the receding dried leaves and the earth. Amongst the patch, a single white flower sprouted, almost like it was marking the spot Arthur had spread magic in.

Needless to say, Alfred gasped.

“That’s so cool!”

Arthur looked over his shoulder as he kneeled and saw Alfred right next to him, practically gushing with a look of pure hero-worship in his blue eyes.

Again, Arthur turned away quickly to try to hide the blush on his otherwise pale face.

And again, there was more silence. Alfred attempted to break the awkward tension between them with a gentle pat on Arthur’s back, which caused the other preteen to jump.

“Sorry, sorry,” Alfred whispered.

Even more silence. It was starting to become uncomfortable.

“Did you know that I didn’t believe in fairies until I met you?” Alfred said in a vague attempt at making conversation.

Arthur turned around to face him before he spoke.

“Why not?”

“Well, my grandpa would always tell me stories about fairies, and how people like you could do cool stuff with magic, and when I was young I’d always dreamt of meeting a fairy. Obviously, I didn’t get the chance.”

Arthur nodded.

“Until that one day five or six years ago,” Alfred continued, smiling.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but then his brain caught up with his instincts and he shut up.

Alfred raised an eyebrow at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s just-” Arthur tried and stopped. He couldn’t possibly ask this. “Nevermind.”

“Please say it!” Alfred interrupted him with wide eyes, “I won’t judge you or anything, I promise!”

Arthur sighed reluctantly.

“Well, I’m alone most of the time, and I’m kind of glad to have met you, even if you are the most annoying jerk in the world.”

Alfred pouted. Arthur tried not to let guilt consume him from looking at that kicked-puppy face.

“But you are nice and, well, I wanted to know if maybe you possibly wanted to be friends?”

The last few words came out of his mouth in a rush because Arthur was so embarrassed to have said that aloud. Him? Friends? With a human? It was preposterous. If any other fairies had been around to hear him say that, they would have laughed and mocked him. But not Alfred.

Alfred beamed, the look on his face brighter than ever before.

Without even having time to react properly, Arthur was crushed in a hug that must have destroyed one or both of his lungs.

“Of course we can be friends, Artie!” Alfred giggled.

“My name… is not… Artie,” Arthur gasped.

“Am I squeezing you too hard? Sorry!”

Once the vice-like death grip on him was released, the fairy took in huge gulps of air while Alfred watched on guiltily.

“Well then, I suppose I should tell you that you are welcome back in this forest any time you like.”

If it was even possible, the huge grin on Alfred’s face only got bigger.

“Really, thanks Arthur!”

“Stop choking me with your hugs… git!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I would update and I guarantee y'all didn't believe me. Get wrecked.


	4. Budding Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's really no need for me to type up a summary because it should be very obvious that there is ROMANCE in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *silently appreciates chapter title pun*

And so Alfred and Arthur became friends.

At the time of their very first meeting, Alfred was only five or six years old, a barely grown toddler, and Arthur appeared to be a similar age. When they next met, Alfred was twelve, and he hadn’t thought to ask Arthur how old he was, but it didn’t really matter, because Arthur appeared to be around the same age as Alfred anyway.

Alfred continued sneaking out of the village through that one tiny crack at the edge of the grand stone wall in order to meet up with his friend. He always made sure to do it at times when the adults didn’t go looking for him, when he was on his break and not helping the various villagers with their tasks. He supposed he was lucky he didn’t have overly doting family like some of the other children did. His father was strict, but only paid close attention to him when he needed to catch up on schoolwork or chores from the farm. Otherwise, he would let Alfred go, as he was too busy planning and upgrading and even personally working on the wall.

Of course, there had been that one time that he came home slightly later than usual, and his father had seemed to accept his rushed excuse of “helping out the other kids with some chores,” but if Alfred wasn’t mistaken, suspicion had lingered in those gray eyes that night. But the next night, he had escaped the village through the gap in the wall again, and his father had been none the wiser, which led Alfred to believe he was safe. 

Alfred knew that if he was ever caught outside the wall, he would be in huge trouble. Huge, huge trouble. Leaving the village was not permitted and absolutely forbidden under all circumstances, and was akin to a crime amongst the villagers. So Alfred learned to be quick and secretive. He learned to be quiet when he escaped through the bottom floor of the tower he and his dad lived in, and he learned to sneak through the shadows of the village houses as he made his way from house to house until he reached the edge of the village, where the walls loomed up above him.

As the years slowly passed by, Alfred gradually got taller and more mature. Alfred was pretty sure Arthur was aging as well, because he wasn’t that far behind in height. And contrary to what many thought, Alfred wasn’t completely oblivious to any changes. He never noticed himself admiring Arthur’s subtle features when the other wasn’t looking, was oblivious to his gaze lingering slightly longer than usual on those beautiful half-lidded green eyes that were like pieces of the forest themselves, and occasionally had to resist the urge to… he didn’t know, touch his face or something.

By the time Alfred was eighteen, he was thoroughly convinced that he was independent enough to slip by his unsuspecting villagers completely unnoticed.

It was one of those calm nights where Alfred visited Arthur, where the only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of crickets and the breeze slowly rustling through the trees when Alfred slipped through that spot in the wall, looked up to see the forest, and headed in. Everything around him glowed. Little spots of light danced through the branches and the grass, and as Alfred listened carefully, he could almost say they were laughing. Were they different types of fairies or the mysteriously glowing insects he had always seen in his childhood, he didn’t know.

There in the distance was a smiling figure, bathed in the gentle glow of the luminescent forest around him. Open arms warmed Alfred, and he sped up in anticipation of the hug that was to come. Arthur gasped a little when Alfred went barreling into his arms like a rampant wild animal, but soon felt his smile soften even further when Alfred loosened the hug enough to curl his arms more thoroughly around him and bury his nose in Arthur’s shoulder.

“Hello, Alfred,” he whispered, his eyes closed, his fingers gently cupping the back of Alfred’s head.

Alfred merely hummed in reply, and attempted to bury his face even deeper into Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur giggled and gently pushed the teen away.

“Stop it, that tickles!”

Alfred pouted for a moment before a malicious grin spread across his face. Arthur only had time to register the fear in his own heart before Alfred took a flying leap and had him pinned to the ground.

“Raaahhh!” Alfred roared as he began a full-out tickle attack on Arthur. The fairy squirmed and shrieked in between bouts of uncontrollable laughter beneath him. Alfred started laughing too -- hey, Arthur had a really infectious laugh, okay! -- and desperately trying to dodge Arthur’s returning blows.

“Stop it, Alfred! Ow!”

Eventually, he did stop, but only because he was under the threat of Arthur’s sharp little self-defense punches. Worn out and breathless, Alfred collapsed on top of Arthur and let his hands lie by his sides as he tried to catch his breath. Arthur did the same, and laid his head back into the lush grass. Up high above the two teens was the forest canopy, and even further beyond those leaves and branches was the magical night sky.

Alfred sighed and rested his chin on his friend. The steady rising and falling of Arthur’s chest was calming, and so was his constant heartbeat.

Before long, Alfred found himself scanning over Arthur’s face, and noticing that he was noticing quite a few things. Had Arthur’s eyes always been that green? Probably, but how had it taken him this long to see and understand that for what it meant? And the way that the light of the fireflies reflected off of them… Alfred didn’t have words.

He didn’t notice he had been staring until he found himself nearly nose-to-nose with the fairy, who only gazed back at him in a state of confusion.

“Alfred?”

Said boy didn’t let anything distract him as he leaned just a bit closer. His eyes met Arthur’s, blue to green, like the sky to the earth.

“You’re kind of pretty,” was all he said.

Instead of blushing and furiously denying it and generally making a fuss, Arthur said nothing. He had found that the mood had rapidly shifted from one of a friendly encounter to something much more different. And as decreed in the change in atmosphere, he, too, took up the opportunity to really look at Alfred. Arthur could feel Alfred’s warm breath against his face, and the weight of his friend was completely forgotten in the moment. His eyes, normally bright and wide with curiosity, had darkened slightly from a sky blue to almost the color of the night. His golden hair just barely fell over his eyes, and the urge to brush it out of the way was almost uncontrollable. But why?

Without further words, Alfred closed the minuscule distance between them, and their lips sealed together.

Such contact was foreign to both Alfred and Arthur. Neither one had experienced anything like it before; Alfred, because he had never been close to any other person growing up in his village, and Arthur because he had been alone his entire life, and wasn’t really sure what this touching of the mouths meant.

Still, both could agree that strangely enough, it felt really nice.

Alfred pulled back after a while, his lips warm, and a light dusting of pink spread across his cheeks.

Arthur breathed in deeply and exhaled, not quite sure why his stomach was doing flips and why his mind felt like it had stopped working.

Finally, he found the courage to speak up.

“What was that?” he asked softly, his voice barely a whisper.

Alfred smiled gently in return.

“That was a kiss, Artie. It’s a thing humans do to show that they like each other a lot,” he murmured.

Arthur’s breath caught in his throat.

“And I like you. I really, really like you.”

“Do you… do you really mean that?” Arthur asked.

Alfred wrapped his arms around his friend and snuggled into him, before answering with his muffled reply:

“Yes.”

Something changed between the two friends that night. Before, they had laughed together, explored their forest together, exchanged soft glances when they thought the other wasn’t looking, and at points even napped together, often under the shade of an old tree. But now there was the added bonus of all the time they spent together, an increased ratio of glances and touches, and a heavy portion of kisses, randomly exchanged throughout their encounters often at the most inopportune of times.

For example, there was that one time Alfred had slipped when leaping across rocks in a stream, and with a great KAPLASH ended up in the cold water. Arthur had rescued him, and while trying to dry him off, was repeatedly assaulted by attempted kisses, most of which he successfully fought off. Of course one or two or maybe many more got through, but it wasn’t like he wanted them or anything!

Anyways, it wasn’t like Arthur was able to push Alfred away. It seemed like he lost the ability to deny Alfred anything at all when they were near each other, especially when Alfred made certain faces at him. The sad, kicked-pup face that was commonly bestowed upon the fairy always made his heart clench in guilt and his mind immediately move to forgive and accept whatever the human teen had been doing or saying earlier.

There were days when they simply sat in the meadow under the shade of that same old tree. The two would sit with their backs against the tree’s thick trunk as they exchanged remarks and made light conversation that soon dwindled into nothingness under the sleepy haze of the peaceful forest. Often, Alfred soon found his head resting on Arthur’s shoulder, and other times, he was asleep before he knew it.

Arthur didn’t mind, of course. In fact, he secretly enjoyed being that close to his friend. Alfred was like an overgrown wolf pup, constantly cheerful, foolish and hungry and then able to sleep for hours on end in the middle of the day. 

So Arthur would gently pat Alfred on the head, watch him snore softly for a while, before he, too, felt tendrils of exhaustion overtake him. These short naps lasted less than an hour most of the time, though if Arthur didn’t wake Alfred up he probably would have been content to sleep the whole day away next to the fairy.

And that was another thing. Arthur was stuck in a perpetual state of confusion and adoration for the other, who was more charming and sweet than Arthur had thought humanly possible. From his early days as a youngling, he had made sure to avoid humans. Others of his kind only interacted with them when necessary, and usually it was to fool around with them or play tricks on them. Arthur always felt bad for the humans, and in order to avoid any awkward confrontations, hid in his forest. But Alfred was different, he was sure. Alfred was friendly and caring and wasn’t afraid of Arthur for what he was. In fact, if anything, Alfred was fascinated by Arthur’s powers.

Then when Alfred woke up the first thing his tired blue eyes would recognize upon opening were Arthur’s green ones, and he immediately stretched up to place a little peck on Arthur’s lips.

Arthur couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face.

“I gotta go, Artie,” Alfred whispered, frowning a bit.

Arthur’s smile soon mirrored that frown.

“Is it time already?”

“Yeah,” Alfred murmured, looking to the side at the setting sun casting great purple shadows across the backsides of clouds.

Arthur obediently got up and moved Alfred over to the side, who stretched with a great yawn.

“I still don’t want to leave…” the human boy groaned.

“And I don’t want you to leave either, but as you told me yourself, your fellow villagers would get worried,” Arthur responded with the appearance of full nonchalance.

“Alright.”

And then again there was that awkward silence that always seemed to encase them wherever they went.

“Well, see you again soon, A-Arthur,” Alfred said.

Arthur smiled sadly and stepped in, wrapping both of them in a warm hug. It was always the hardest to leave one another at the end of their meetings. Alfred always looked close to crying.

“It’s okay. You’ll be back.” Arthur responded, offering a weak smile.

“Okay.”

Alfred took a deep breath before stepping away, and then turning around and heading into the dark depths of the forest. He looked back one last time and expected to see Arthur gone, disappeared into the depths of green like he always had. But there Arthur was, standing, smiling with his eyes closed and a waving hand. Alfred smiled back, waved, and then ran back in the direction of the village.

But by the time he had squeezed through the coarse rock of the wall gap, the only thing he found on the other side was a mob of angry villagers. At the head of that group was no one other than his dad.

“It’s about time you showed up, Alfred,” his father’s stern voice growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I TOLD YOU I'D UPDATE AND I BET YOU THOUGHT I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO KEEP MY PROMISE FOR LONGER THAN ONE CHAPTER HA WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT
> 
> Also special thanks to the-homestuck-otaku for betaing!


	5. The Boy in the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred's secret is let out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one link embedded in the chapter that leads to a youtube video of the song being described. In the movie that this fic is based off of, this song is played when the main character gets trapped in a tower by his father and his fairy friend sings an enchanted song to get him out. Here I have modified the events to make them much more romantic. >:]
> 
> Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Alfred had always known deep down inside that his absences from the village would be noticed eventually. But he had always pushed that fact away so that they wouldn’t leave a bitter taste in the aftermath of his meetings with Arthur. Alfred had willingly ignored the issue because he didn’t want to acknowledge his future, the fact that it would become a problem.

And look where that got him.

After his father had confronted him in front of the whole village, he had been thrown into the highest room in the tower at the center of town, the tower that his father also happened to sleep and work in.

The door was slammed shut and locked. Alfred was also pretty sure he heard the key being put into a pocket. Either way, he probably wouldn’t be let out for at least a week. That is, if he wasn’t grounded for a solid month. Or maybe even a year.

The one thing he did know for sure was that he would be prevented from ever going outside the walls of the village ever again. He would never see Arthur again. Never.

The thought of never again being able to look into those endless depths of green or touch those pale cheeks or kiss those soft lips… Alfred felt his eyes begin to sting with unshed emotions. And it hurt even more than it would have had he been less close with Arthur. Had he not let their lips meet on that fateful night, Alfred wouldn’t be feeling his terrible ache in his chest, as his heart slowly grew pained from separation from the one other person he had ever truly loved.

He should have left earlier tonight. He should have came back earlier so he wouldn’t be caught. He should have, he should have, he should have…

Tears began to flow down his cheeks.

“Oh Arthur, Arthur…”

Meanwhile, a fairy sped out of the outer edges of a forest that he had belonged to and that had belonged to him all his life.

A pair of green eyes shining in the darkness peered around the edges of a gap in the great stone wall.

Arthur took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to do. Entering human territory was not something fairies did on a regular basis, if they did it at all. But Arthur was doing this for Alfred. He knew Alfred had been found out. He just knew. And if he didn’t personally go and see him, then they would never be able to meet again.

In a flurry of leaves and behind the unearthly mists of the night, Arthur ran.

Alfred continued to sob pathetically, but his emotional bubble was popped by a knock at the wooden window on the side of the tower.

Alfred startled at the sudden noise, then stepped out of bed. He slowly made his way over to the window, one hesitant step at a time. His hands were shaking when he opened the the window.

Out of all the things he could expect to see awaiting him outside, he least expected to find Arthur.

His face and pale hair were bathed in moonlight as well as an ethereal glow. And those same sparkly little pinpoints of light were floating in through the window.

Arthur was not sure what he expected, but it definitely  _ wasn’t _ being dragged in through the window harshly by a very emotional Alfred and then nearly strangled in a hug.

“You actually came for me,” Alfred gasped, like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. His voice, racked with sobs, was weaker than it had ever been.

Arthur gently pat Alfred on the back a few times, then choked out “of course I did, silly, now please let me go because I can’t breathe.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Alfred grudgingly released Arthur only to get a better look at him. Any remaining thoughts of despair immediately evaporated and morphed into thoughts revolving around Arthur and his amazing looks and personality and general awesomeness. Arthur stared back at Alfred in confusion.

He looked down to see their hands joined together. A single line of moonlight filtered through the open window and basked the two teens in a silver glow.

“My father locked me in here, and he’s not going to check up on me for at least a day. I think it’s safe for you to stay for the night. So will you?” Alfred finally said, breaking the silence.

Arthur scoffed.

“Of course I’ll stay. What did you think I’ll do, leave?”

Again, Alfred threw his arms around the cranky fairy and buried his head in Arthur’s shoulder.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me for keeping you company,” Arthur whispered, patting Alfred’s back reassuringly.

Alfred sighed in satisfaction and squeezed his friend more tightly. A thought occurred to Alfred.

“Hey, why don’t we go lie down in my bed? Together,” Alfred added, blushing a little at how that last part sounded.

Arthur raised one bushy eyebrow but said nothing else. He allowed himself to be pulled over to the human creation, a small but soft-looking fabric draped over a frame of wood. He obediently sat down, and curiously grasped at the sheets with his fingers. Arthur wondered if this was how humans slept, bundled up in woven cloths on a hard wood frame. His mind then went to Alfred, and he couldn’t help but imagine him doing the same.

Alfred chose that moment to crawl in next to Arthur, burying himself in the sheets and then poking his head out again. Alfred grinned at Arthur, who couldn’t help but melt slightly on the inside and smile back. Soon enough, his hand had found its way to Alfred’s hair and was now stroking it the way he would the soft fur of a pup.

“Hey, Arthur?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Can you sing something?”

Arthur blinked in surprise at the sudden suggestion. Alfred had never asked him to sing before, or at least he didn’t remember Alfred ever asking him to sing. But he did sort of remember once humming a tune during one of their meetings under the shade of the old green tree, and Alfred remarking that he had a beautiful voice.

Arthur sighed.

“Of course.”

[ And so he opened his mouth and began to hum the first few notes to a song he remember he had heard himself a long time ago, sung to him by a breeze in the forest. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIFNTpKllug)

Alfred got up from his position and sidled up to Arthur, again resting his head on Arthur’s shoulder as they sat side by side. 

“Your voice is really lovely,” he whispered.

Arthur turned around to face him so that their chests were nearly touching, dipped his head down to press a kiss to Alfred’s nose, and hummed some more. Alfred found comfort in the way he could press his lips against Arthur’s neck and feel his singing like the purring of a cat.

Or at least it was that way until Arthur squeaked at the feeling of being kissed on the neck.

Alfred giggled at the sight of deep red spread across the fairy’s cheeks.

But there was also something more passionate and dark in Arthur’s eyes, and Alfred failed to notice it until Arthur pushed back by his own accord, tilted his head, and mirrored the same sensual kiss to Alfred’s neck. Alfred also squeaked in a highly unmanly manner.

And then both of the teens were lying on the bed, holding each other close as they traded kisses and sweet murmurings and gentle caresses and other things as well. Alfred lost himself to the warmth and presence of Arthur; he felt his essence everywhere, probably a side effect of his fairy magicness, and every kiss against his skin felt like a shock of electricity, though maybe less painful and more passionate.

There they stayed like that until the moonlight had faded in the glow of morning, and the threat of being found out by his father at dawn pushed Alfred to wake up from the pleasant lulling of sleep. He couldn’t deny the fact that Arthur was pretty attractive, lying there next to him in his bed, still almost spiritual and unearthly in his beauty. Alfred was unable to stop himself from softly tracing over Arthur’s features with a hand, from his hilariously thick eyebrows to those dark lashes, and across the bridge of his nose down to his pale-though-slightly-puffier-and-pinker-from-all-that-kissing-last-night lips, where his finger lingered for just a moment longer.

Alfred really regretted what he was about to do. But Arthur would have to leave so that heArthur wouldn’t be hurt by the fearful human villagers, most of all his dad. So Alfred grasped Arthur’s shoulder and shook him gently.

The sight of green eyes gradually opening in the radiant first light of dawn was enough to make Alfred completely breathless.

“I think you should go,” Alfred began and was interrupted by a desperate last kiss from his friend.

Arthur licked his lips as he pulled back, frowning at the prospect of having to leave. But he knew Alfred was right.

“Alright, my love,” he conceded in a tearful whisper.

Alfred couldn’t bear to watch his companion leave him, so he closed his eyes and looked away, off to the dark corner of his room opposite of the small open window. He chanced a quick glance behind his back, and found only the shutters fluttering in the wind, and Arthur gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're welcome. Also I lied. It looks like this isn't finished just yet. Sorry. This was bound to happen eventually...
> 
> Again, thank you to the-homestuck-otaku for betaing!

**Author's Note:**

> Check out [my tumblr!](http://cosmicconundrum.tumblr.com)
> 
> [](http://cosmicconundrum.tumblr.com/)  
> 
> 
> ALSO LOOK AT THIS AMAZING PIECE OF FANART BY [LILAONEL](https://lilaonel.tumblr.com/) ON TUMBLR!!!


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